Eatman: Well Qc6 was pretty much forced (since Nc4 was hanging) Tal had to foresee what was going on a move earlier at least. It seemed white were doing okay and started the pawnroller on queenside, but Tal managed to disturb white's king in time.

kereru: 10...Ne5 isn't the best move if Black want to play for a win. Kristinsson was one of the weaker players in the tournament and when he saw a chance to "force" a draw with the great Tal by 13.Ndxb5 axb5 14.Nxb5 Qc6 15.Na7 Qc7 16.Nb5= (16.Nxc8!? is unclear) he grabbed it. Of course any normal GM would have grudgingly accepted the draw, but Tal was not a normal GM.

15...Nxe3?? is objectively terrible, White only has to save the knight with 17.Na5 or 17.Ne5 and Black has no compensation for his substantial material deficit. He can give a discovered check and he can win the exchange, but that's all.

White panicked at the threat of a discovered check. After 17.Kh2?? White still has a decent game, but the position is unclear, just how Tal likes it. Tal simply outplayed him after that, winning with an ingenious king's side attack.

Delboy: Most players would be happy to leave just one such game to posterity. Tal however played so many amazing games that this one might not even feature in his '100 most memorable' ones collection. Thanks, CG, for unearthing and celebrating it today

Domdaniel: <newzild> -- By no stretch of the imagination can Jristinsson be called a 'weak player': he went on to win the Icelandic championship twice in the 1970s, and that is a very competitive event. Iceland has more GMs per head of population than any other country.
However, he was pretty young and relatively inexperienced when this was played -- in his first master tournament, facing a legendary world champion. Errors are understandable.

The material balance of R/B/N vs Queen is a fascinating one. In theory, the pieces should win - but if they lack coordination and the Queen takes the initiative, it can be better. I once drew with a GM with such an active Queen; Kasparov won some games with the Q.

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